Congenital lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection: spectrum of disease

Objective Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a human pathogen and an emerging neuroteratogen. When the infection occurs during pregnancy, the virus can target and damage the fetal brain and retina. We examined the spectrum of clinical presentations, neuroimaging findings, and clinical outc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of neurology 2007-10, Vol.62 (4), p.347-355
Main Authors: Bonthius, Daniel J., Wright, Rhonda, Tseng, Brian, Barton, Leslie, Marco, Elysa, Karacay, Bahri, Larsen, Paul D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - pathology
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Diagnostic Imaging - methods
Female
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infectious diseases
Longitudinal Studies
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis - congenital
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis - diagnosis
Male
Medical sciences
Neurology
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
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Summary:Objective Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a human pathogen and an emerging neuroteratogen. When the infection occurs during pregnancy, the virus can target and damage the fetal brain and retina. We examined the spectrum of clinical presentations, neuroimaging findings, and clinical outcomes of children with congenital LCMV infection. Methods Twenty children with serologically confirmed congenital LCMV infection were identified. The children underwent neuroimaging studies and were followed prospectively for up to 11 years. Results All children with congenital LCMV infection had chorioretinitis and structural brain anomalies. However, the presenting clinical signs, severity of vision disturbance, nature and location of neuropathology, and character and severity of brain dysfunction varied substantially among cases. Neuroimaging abnormalities included microencephaly, periventricular calcifications, ventriculomegaly, pachygyria, cerebellar hypoplasia, porencephalic cysts, periventricular cysts, and hydrocephalus. The combination of microencephaly and periventricular calcifications was the most common neuroimaging abnormality, and all children with this combination had profound mental retardation, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. However, others had less severe neuroimaging abnormalities and better outcomes. Some children had isolated cerebellar hypoplasia, with jitteriness as their presenting sign and ataxia as their principal long‐term neurological dysfunction. Interpretation Congenital LCMV infection can have diverse presenting signs, neuroimaging abnormalities, and clinical outcomes. In the companion article to this study, we utilize an animal model to show that the clinical and pathological diversity in congenital LCMV infection is likely due to differences in the gestational timing of infection. Ann Neurol 2007
ISSN:0364-5134
1531-8249
DOI:10.1002/ana.21161